It took until 15 minutes after the trade deadline for the news to emerge.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had indeed traded away Scott Laughton. It looked like they may have missed their chance, but the Los Angeles Kings came through to bring him aboard, according to David Pagnotta.
It would’ve been a disaster if the Leafs hadn’t moved Laughton, for one reason: his contract.
Laughton is on an expiring deal, and Toronto isn’t going to the playoffs. There’d be no excuse whatsoever for not sending him elsewhere to return some sort of value.
In the end, the Maple Leafs got it done, barely.
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It’s a bit of a bummer only because they sent more out to get Laughton about a year ago than they got back for him this time around.
Sometimes, though, you have to cut your losses.
Laughton did what the Leafs expected him to do, giving them a quality fourth-line center. The problem is that too many of the players above him on the depth chart didn’t play up to their potential this season.
With Laughton being a free agent after the season, Toronto could even look to bring him back on a new contract, assuming he doesn’t sign an extension with his new team.
That’s a though for the offseason, though.
For now, the Maple Leafs did what they had to do. They returned value for Laughton’s expiring contract. And now they’ll start looking toward next season.
